The Second War
by graystripe2
Summary: Ten years have passed since the War ended. Many things have happened since that victory. Then, a mysterious death. The escape of a prisoner. And a dark, dark secret that could throw the entire world as we know it out of balance. Love triangles aplenty.
1. Prologue

A roar of rage. "EERAAAAAH!"

The pitch-black night sky lit up with an enchanting augmentation of fire.

"Again!" A croaky old voice moaned, coming from a male who talked like there was a frog in their mouth, probably in their mid-80's.

"EEERAAAAAH!" the rage roared louder, and a large wall of fire pierced the air around it and shattered the darkness with blazing light.

"Again!" the voice croaked again, with more roughness. Now was the perfect moment. It all came down to this.

A jump. A full three-sixty degree turn. A landing on two feet in perfect stance. An ear-shattering yell.

"EEEEEEEERAAAAAAAAAH!" the roar flared, and kept flaring, along with the fire's original source yelling with every bit of oxygen in his lungs. And along with the carbon dioxide, came pure fire.

"Don't stop now!" the voice, much deeper now, yelled. "You have almost done it!"

The fire was abruptly cut off and began destructing in on itself. In the twilit night, two eyes closed momentarily and a mouth opened to breathe. The eyes then glared open, a newfound determination in them. And, finally, another ear shattering yell.

The flames had now came back with full force, raging red.

"Yes…"

The flames grew in intensity, sending a heat wave through out the roofless room. The Firebender firmly planted his feet down into the earth; a foolish battle for three of the four benders… but Earth wasn't even on his mind at that moment. All of his concentration was pinpointed on the large column that rose many yards above him.

All of a sudden, the red blaze was swallowed whole by a circular inferno of blue flames, circling the red, spiraling in on itself, and devouring the sky, illuminating a large radius around it.

"Yes!"

The red column and blue whirlpool kept maintaining their peaked power. It was inevitable now. Just a few more seconds… Unfortunately, he was running out of air. He had to stop soon or he would be forced to.

"Yes! Keep going!"

The roar kept going. The sea of flames burst with increased intensity and anger. The column turned almost instantaneously from red to blue to white. Meanwhile, the blue vortex slowly got eaten up by white. Slowly and progressively, the blinding blue lights were replaced with intensified white ultraviolet rays.

A gag. Choking sounds. He collapsed. The flames dispersed, but the searing smoggy evidence of their temporary existence was undeniable.

"No!" the old man came out of the shadows. He wore the now out-of-style Fire Nation robes of the good old days. Those days, only a decade past, which seemed centuries ago.

"Oh my god!" An elderly woman with white hair who was surprisingly fit came in. "What have you done?"

The old man didn't answer. The elderly woman looked at the unconscious body, with a clean-shaven face. She observed a charred mouth with lips that looked like they were roasted.

"You didn't…" she sighed. She checked for a pulse.

There was none.

"I didn't mean to…" the old gentleman said, an tear falling from his cheeks.

"NO!" the woman screamed, turning to his face with rage. "Don't talk to me! He's _twelve_! He wasn't ready!"

"He wasn't strong enough." The man said with anger.

"Wasn't _strong enough_?" The woman's voice cracked with despair. "No. You brought this upon him. You and your crazy theory! First you kill his sister… by accident, or so you say… and then, as if that isn't enough, you train him so hard he dies!"

"Neither of those were intentional!" The man roared with such ferocity that the woman backed away.

"I am talking to Fire Lord Zuko. He'll have the common sense to banish you! You're not welcome here anymore! You're… you're inhumane!"

"Oh yeah?" the man said sarcastically, though trembling with anger and sorrow. "He'll banish me? Well, if he didn't banish me when his highness's Fire Lady died, what makes you think he'll banish me when a lowly twelve-year old boy dies!"

The woman closed her eyes and walked past him, shoving him out of the way. "Because that was different. _Stay away from me_!" Crying, she ran out and away.

She ran away. The old man looked back at boy on the ground.

"It's such a shame. You had so much promise. So much potential. Wasted on my foolish actions. I'm sorry, Tom Tom."


	2. 10 Years Ago

I realize the prologue was very confusing. This is intentional, as this chapter is meant to pick up the past. There's a ten-year gap between then and now, with a _lot_ of things happening between that time, and here's the first year and most of the second one. Four other flashback chapters, two years apiece, will show up at different intervals.

--

TEN YEARS AGO

I was sleeping in my Fire Nation military bunker as highly esteemed warhead, commander, and self-proclaimed admiral of the Northern Raiders. The only reason I wasn't Admiral yet was because of Admiral Xifu, who, quite frankly, was as worthless as bison dung.

Whenever we all agreed to go left, he would go right. Whenever we had a victory, he would be downcast. It seemed as if he was the polar contrast of the rest of us. Whenever I was requested for promotion by the wisest of men, he would always find a way to selfishly get me out of it. Hm, I guess he didn't want a highly superior person to be in a juxtaposed rank as him. He was a downright hypocritical fool. And maybe the worst part of all, he had a tiring tendency to mock my brother and his unfortunate death. More on him later.

You see, my name is Ziyeng, approaching my mid-50's a decade ago. For some reason, I always looked ten to twenty years older then I actually was, a physical trait I was usually mocked for. And that decade ago it seemed like life would trudge endlessly with the War. Of course, that was until I saw Sozin's magnificent Comet shining in the night sky. Apparently, no one had decided to tell me. The next day, we all awaited news of the fall of the Earth Kingdom once and for all. At last, this hundred-year war would come to an end. Unfortunately, the word we received was the absolute opposite. In a shocking turn of events, the mysterious Avatar, who was previously assumed dead, conquered Phoenix King Ozai, and the banished traitor Prince Zuko had defeated the to-be Fire Lord Azula with the help of one of the Avatar's friend. Zuko had been crowned Fire Lord, and Ozai and Azula were imprisoned, and all military forces were ordered to retreat straight back to the capital for further instructions.

Damn. Now for most it would seem like the end of the world, but really, I was hit with an epiphany. I could care less about government, politics, and society. I just wanted to have bread on the table. At last, I was promoted to Admiral (which came with its benefits, like a much higher pay raise). Things were looking up, with, what Fire Lord Zuko called an era of "peace and kindness". My family, with my beautiful wife Jia (who ironically had the same aging trait as I did) and our son and daughter, Longwei and Liu, respectively were profiting well.

Then, a year later, my life was changed forever.

NINE YEARS AGO

I was reporting to Fire Lord Zuko about the growth in prosperity and rebuilding of the Water Tribe and Earth Kingdom. Things were going quite swimmingly, as I was head of the North Legion, built for repairing the damages brought upon by us to the other three nations, and the personal advisor of Zhen, head of the Eastern Legion who quite comically always came to me for advice with rebellious commoners. Anyway, things were going as normal until Fire Lady Mai interrupted us with an urgent report. The Fire Lord apologized and left with her. She then came back, without Lord Zuko.

"What is it, m'Lady?" I asked formally.

"There has been an assassination attempt on Avatar Aang. The Fire Lord is confronting with the Avatar now and has to see the assassin directly following." Mai told me with her annoyingly emotionless tone.

"So I assume that's my ticket out?" I said casually.

She started walking away. "I guess it is."

Two days later, I met with Zuko and finished our delayed discussion, and completed my next weekly report. On my way home, there was Firebending duel going on in the main hall so I had to take a detour through the second-most despicable place in the entire Royal Palace: the prisoner's quarter. And as if that wasn't enough, there was a riot in the main hall taking place during a transportation to the Boiling Rock, so I had to go through the infamous hall that I liked to call the Asylum for the Insane.

I walked through it, and was thoroughly insulted, mocked, and laughed at by the prisoners. I stepped by the always-quiet Ozai who never spoke. I took some enjoyment out of mocking him. I only got a reply once, the first time, with vulgar words I'd rather not repeat for the sake of your sanity. Then there was the violent Ozai who had to be especially restrained with chains around her arms and legs. That left her mouth, which still produced her trademark blue fire at will. A year hadn't been enough for her to get the picture that no one's letting her out. The guards were all dealing with the riot and/or cheering for one of the members of the battle, which left us alone, making it especially creepier. And, to make matters worse, for the first time in a year, I saw her open her mouth without producing fire from it.

From lack of use, her voice wasn't cold and manipulative as we were all painfully used to, but all cracked. To my dismay she still had the same tone. "Admiral… Zhen, is it?"

"Ziyeng, actually. Zhen is head of the Eastern Legion." I responded. "What can I do for you, Azula?"

"That's _Fire Lord_ to you!" Azula roared, sparks flaring from her nostrils, which caused me to flinch and start to leave.

"No, wait!" I heard a voice. It didn't sound like Azula's, but when I whipped around it was clearly her speaking. It was a voice I hadn't quite heard before. A voice with despair. "I need your help."

"And what could I possibly help you for, _Fire Lord_ Azula?" I couldn't resist mocking her, as some form of payback for all those years of menace she brought on everyone… but with that sentence, even without the witty retort, I had no idea what I was getting myself into.

"Do you like the way you've been treated?" she asked, tilting her head to the side. Oh great, a mind game.

"I'm sorry?" I asked.

"Well, it just seems like a man with your military prowess should have a higher ranking. Sergeant, perhaps?"

"I assume you're mistaken. There are far more honorable soldiers than me."

"_Honor!_" she complimented it by spitting on the stone floor. "Forget it… but I still need your help."

"For what?" I asked, aware now that there was destined to be trouble.

"I have loyal agents who still serve me," Azula went on, flicking her head to the other side in an attempt to seem the least bit not purely evil. "But none of them have the courage to bust me out of here… even though they have the courage to try to assassinate the Avatar…" she said that last bit almost to herself.

"What?" I asked incredulously.

"Oh, nothing that would interest you," she scoffed. "Now, tell me, Mr. Ziyeng. I'm deeming you worthy of role I'm about to assign you, but I still don't entirely trust you."

"What role?" I laughed. "You have no power at all."

"No, not now at least, but I know your family. And I'll be more than happy to have my servants do them away to force you to follow my commands."

This couldn't be happening. The War was over. Why me? I regained my composure. "What if you're bluffing?"

Azula closed her eyes and smiled maliciously. "And what if I'm not? Jia, age fifty-two, married you at twenty-six. You gave birth to Longwei, now sixteen, and Liu, now eight. Your beloved brother could fit in account, but…" a coldhearted stare straight into my eyes that felt like icy daggers. "I believe the oh-so brilliant Avatar already did away with him long ago."

"Don't talk about Admiral Zhao like that!" I yelled. "He's better than you'll ever be!" I instantly wanted to take it back. In fact, I wish I had gone out of character and gone to watch the battle rather than be in this Asylum talking to the Devil in human form. "This… this is blackmail!"

"Oh, I'm sorry," Azula tried to act innocent, but this resulted in an adamant face that looked almost like a faceless mask. "Now, I have a hit list of sorts for you. Kill the following people, _in order_, and _don't_ get caught."

"Err… y-y-y-yes, Azula," I nodded, my whole body trembling.

"Now, I want you to kill the next person. I believe you know her. Who doesn't? You have a week to kill her, and no more. Her name is…" Azula began, but suddenly we heard a guard walking around the corner. I quickly slammed the door shut. Azula went back to her sham of breathing fire relentlessly.

"Meal time," a Firebending soldier came up to Azula and carefully restrained her. He blocked her chi making her unable to bend (a technique now taught to every soldier, ironically by Azula's old friend).

Azula was carried away. I watched helplessly as Azula turned her head to me, and it was clear she wasn't done with me and couldn't resist finishing her sentence. She mouthed a single word out which I'm afraid to say I understood. A three-letter word with such power, that it rattled me to the core. Why? Why her? Why not a lowly citizen or even a soldier's wife for crying out loud?

_Mai_. Fire Lady, wife of crowned Fire Lord Zuko.

I dropped to my knees. This had to be a dream. But it wasn't. Unmercifully, it just wasn't.

"She's a scary one, alright," a soldier walked up behind me. "Never seen anyone drop on their knees before, though. Did you see that battle?"

I didn't answer or even justify him with a glance at him. I just stood up and began walking away.

"Commander Hong beat Lok! It was close, though."

I grunted and went up to the Royal Palace's nearest exit.

**One week later…**

As you may have guessed, I waited until seven days after that fateful meeting to do as she said. Now, I could have very well gone down to talk to Lord Zuko or even Avatar Aang, who was staying with the Fire Lord for a week. But Azula was so convincing, so terrifying, it was almost surreal; if I told him, I was almost certain she would slaughter my wife and children. If I tried to hide them, she would find them. She was convincing. It was at the end of that Thursday that I had made my decision. I waited until nightfall.

It was pitch black when I stepped into the Royal Palace. From the looks of it, everyone was sound asleep. I walked in. Knowing the Palace very well from my memory, I could see the Palace in my mind and step through its halls in total black emptiness.

Occasionally, I Firebended a torch or two. It would help for a speedy escape. I walked up to the door, and opened it.

"Who is it?" I heard a dreary voice I had hoped I wouldn't hear. Great.

I didn't answer. I only opened the door.

"Who is it?" she asked again, annoyed.

I kicked the door open. No light in or outside the room. The perfect conditions… except her being awake, of course.

"I'm sorry, m'Lady," I said, tears in my eyes. I lit up the room and did what I never would've thought I would've done. I killed her. In cold blood... but I had to! There was no other way.

The blast of fire hit at the perfect angle sealed the deal. But that one scream had sealed my fate. I had to get out of there—_now_. Going as fast as my legs could carry me, I rocketed out of the building.

But I was too late. Cornered on all sides, I gave in. Zuko saw what I had done. After several minutes, I saw the Fire Lord wiping his tears and walking up to me. I expected him to kill me—the Fire Lord was known for his troubled past of recklessness.

To my surprise, he only said a word to me, albeit filled with rage and sadness, tears dripping down his face.

"Why?"

"I had to."

"_Why did you have to?_" Anger was clearly apparent now. I prepared for the inevitable.

"I had to save my family."

"_What?! Mai was doing nothing to your family! Why?!_"

I then told him the truth. Azula, the act, the blackmail, everything.

Zuko was speechless.

"Where are you going, my Lord?" an advisor asked as Zuko angrily walked into a hall, his fists pulsing and fire bursting from his fingers and nostrils.

"_I'm going to kill my sister._" Zuko roared darkly.

"And what about the murderer?" another advisor asked, surprised.

"Let him go. I know how my sister is with people," Zuko said, still angry.

"Let him go?"

Zuko pondered a moment, his eyes still aflame. "No, one year's imprisonment, of course. It was blackmail. No death or banishment."

"But this is the _Fire Lady_ we're talking about! A murder in the Royal Family

"_Are you questioning my orders_?"

"N-n-n-no sir, not at all."

"Good. Now I'm going to make my sister wish she was… never… **born!**"

Fire Lord Zuko walked away, to my relief. The prince was surprisingly, unrealistically, and ridiculously merciful. His own wife… did he not love her as much as we all thought he did? Meh, with the Fire Lord, anything is possible.

I was sentenced to my year. My whole family wouldn't even talk to me. But the punishment could've been worse. Much, much worse.

I never found out what happened to Azula. Not yet, at least.

And so was the beginning of an eventless year in prison, feared by other soldiers and stripped of my military status.

It really got me thinking… should I have killed Fire Lady Mai? Or should I have stood up for myself and done something else. I feel incredibly guilty regardless. I've never taken a life outside for room.

From what I heard from other prisoners, Fire Lord Zuko refused to get a new Fire Lady… for now at least.

Good or bad? Constructive criticism or praise greatly appreciated.


	3. The Gaang Returns

I'm going to organize the plot as such: every other chapter will be a flashback and likewise the other chapters will be present day. I will be alternating from my OC, Ziyeng's, POV, to the Avatar cast's POV. So this chapter will be present-day Gaang, and the next chapter will be a Gaang flashback, then a Ziyeng present-day, then a Ziyeng flashback, and so on. The formula may be broken occasionally.

PRESENT-DAY

Fire Lord Zuko, now twenty-six, woke up from his peaceful slumber. After nine years, Zuko had long gotten over Mai's tragic death. Ex-Admiral Ziyeng was a thing of the past. After he got out of prison, he lived a quiet reclusive life now in his late 50's (though he looked much older). Until today, he had only been of importance twice; Mai's murder and that time a few years ago when…

"Your majesty!" a soldier walked in, nervous and trembling.

"What is it?" the Fire Lord asked. "Why are you so nervous?"

"There's something you need to see. There's been a murder."

Zuko's eyes widened. He whipped around at the soldier. "Who was murdered? Who did it?"

The soldier gulped. "I don't think I'm the right person to tell you."

Zuko grabbed the soldier and hurled him into a wall. "You listen to me! Who. Was. Murdered?"

The soldier tried to flee, but relented from his Lord's grip. "It was… his name was Tom-Tom."

_Mai's little brother_, Zuko's eyes widened in anger at his past memory flaring up. Fire pulsed through his hands in a way it hadn't much since ten years before. Zuko took a few deep breaths, and inhaled to attempt to speak calmly.

"Now. Who. Killed. Him?"

The soldier hesitated, and then drabbled. "Sir, I really think I've got to leave, my gopher bear is getting hungry, and you should see for yourself…"

Zuko's eyes glared straight into the soldier's, his grip fastening around the poor soldier's collar. "_Who. Killed. Him?_"

The soldier took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and flinched. "It was Ziyeng, sir."

Zuko's world crashed around him. This was all his fault. If he had cared for Mai more he would've been banished and Tom-Tom wouldn't be dead. In fact, if he hadn't underestimated his sister _Mai_ wouldn't even be dead. The soldier tried to run away, but Zuko summoned a wall of fire in the corridor, being careful not to burn anything, that sent the soldier running straight back.

"Where is he now?" Zuko asked when he finally came to his senses.

"He's… gone. He got away this time," the soldier didn't dare make eye contact with his Lord. "Should… should I tell them you want to send a search party?"

A pause.

"No."

The soldier was genuinely surprised. "But sir…"

"_No._ This is my job."

"Er… yes, my Lord." The soldier scampered out of there as fast as his tiny legs could carry him.

Zuko, now thoroughly stressed, rubbed his forehead and walked out the Fire Nation palace where a body bag was being carried. Zuko couldn't look and rubbed a few tears off of his face he didn't know were there.

"Is there anything you need?" one of Zuko's many advisors asked, as Zuko stepped down the large staircase where his grandfather's funeral had been held.

"I need an airship."

"And why is that, Lord Zuko?"

"I'm meeting with the Avatar."

**One week later…**

Zuko attended Tom-Tom's funeral somewhat reluctantly, and comforted the family whom he had had to comfort only nine years ago. Zuko then went to the Palace, sorting through old files. He found a file with a drawing of Ziyeng.

"You, my friend, are just one trouble after another,"

Immediately following, Zuko's arranged three-day trip by airship was set to take off. Zuko was last to board.

Three days later, Zuko arrived in the Southern Water Tribe.

"Why, hello, Fire Lord," a female villager dressed in a Water Tribe parka greeted him. "Welcome to the Southern Water Tribe. Is there anything we can do for you?"

"No, thank you," Zuko replied adamantly, as he was pelted by a few adolescent teenager's snowballs, whom he guessed still had lingering animosity towards him and his nation for the War and Zuko's personal invasion back in the day. "I just need to see Avatar Aang."

The villager laughed. "You must be mistaken, Lord Zuko. Aang left six weeks ago for Kyoshi Island."

Zuko sighed with a lighthearted laugh. Even as friends the Avatar was still hard to track down. "For what?" he asked.

The villager laughed again, slightly to Zuko's annoyance. "Haven't you heard?" the villager looked around, and whispered in Zuko's ear. "Sokka's going to propose to Suki. I don't think he's sent invitations yet, though."

Zuko's eyes widened and he laughed, something that came rarely in the monarchal position as Fire Lord. "It's been ten years! How has he _not_ already?"

The villager shrugged as she led Zuko back to his airship to leave for Kyoshi. "Well, from what I heard, they've had a few rough patches and I think something happened with Toph of the Bei Fong Family a few years back that made it even tougher."

Zuko raised an eyebrow. "Toph? What, did she have a crush on him or something?" he smiled.

"I guess so. So why do you need to see Aang?" the villager asked.

Zuko's smile instantly turned into a frown. "My cousin's dead."

"Oh…" the villager flinched. "I'm so sorry."

"It's alright. Well, I better be off. Where's Kyoshi again?"

"Twelve miles directly north. Good luck."

And with that, Zuko returned to his ship. "Start the engines, we're taking off."

"What, again? But we just landed."

"What do you think you're paid to do? Start up the engines!"

**Twenty minutes later…**

"IT'S THE FIRE LORD!" a strange man yelled out loud as Zuko's airship landed, foaming from his mouth and fainting.

"Greetings, Fire Lord," a Kyoshi boy said. "What can we do for you?"

"Yes, I need to speak with Aang immediately." Zuko replied curtly.

"Go ahead, he's on the beach at the other side of the island. Do you need an escort?"

"No, I'm fine, thanks," Zuko gave his thanks and began trekking through Kyoshi Island. It still seemed funny that only ten years ago he burned down Kyoshi and now he was walking through it as an ally of its citizens.

Zuko was about three-quarters down the relatively small island when he heard a familiar voice.

"Zuko?" asked an ever-so familiar voice. Even at twenty-five not much had changed about him.

Lord of the Fire Nation turned around and saw one of his old friends Sokka of the Water Tribe.

"How's it going, Scarface?" he asked casually, walking up to his old buddy in his casual Water Tribe wear and two bags filled with food.

"Not so good," Zuko admitted. He then tried to change the subject. "Congratulations on the proposa—"

"Shhh!" Sokka slyly shut Zuko up. "I haven't told anyone yet except a few people back home… how do you know?"

"I went there looking for Aang," Zuko remarked. Thankfully Sokka didn't ask why. "They brought me here!"

"Well, great to have ya!" Sokka patted him on the back. "Now that you're here, that just leaves your uncle, my dad, and Piandao, my sword master. They'll all be here within a week if my letters reach them in a few days, and I'm going to do it seven days from now!" Sokka began counting with his fingers. "Aang, Katara, Pakku, Bumi, and some other people we met on our travels are already here."

"Not Toph?" Zuko asked out of curiosity.

Sokka winced. "Well… it's a long story… but she hasn't even spoken to me in a year."

"Ouch." Zuko said. "Well, I need to talk to Aang. Can you take me to him?"

Sokka shrugged. "I don't see why not. The groceries can hold off till tomorrow."

And so Sokka and Zuko reminisced their decade-old adventures as they finally reached the opposite end of Kyoshi Island. They saw the smooth sandy beach that sparkled in the hot sun, the waves lapping on the shore. The sun by now was in high noon, and most of the children were at the more popular beach down south. Just Aang, looking much older at twenty-two, and with a head of hair, and Katara, now twenty-four, with the same dark tan and long hair.

"Has Aang… you know… proposed yet?"

"No, I won't let him," Sokka laughed, eyeing the couple. "Just kidding. He's even more hesitant than I am."

"Hey, Aang! Katara!" Sokka ran up to them, and tripped, reminding a smirking Zuko of Sokka's old clumsiness.

Aang and Katara turned and laughed as Sokka picked himself up and pouted.

"Hello, Crowned King of the Fire Nation!" Aang laughed with a mocking tone. He used his signature laugh that still sounded like a twelve-year-old's but a bit deeper. Aang Airbended up to Zuko as Katara and Sokka followed. "What are you doing in Kyoshi?"

Zuko's smile faded. "I need to talk to you." He held Ziyeng's drawing up.

Aang's smile was the next to fade. "Oh, no. What has he done this time?"

"Who has done what this time? Katara asked curiously, asked Katara with her usual tone of voice.

Zuko turned to Katara and Sokka. "I'm sorry, but I need to speak to Aang in private. Do you mind, Aang?"

"Not at all."

Zuko turned his back as he saw Katara and Sokka walk off, suspiciously eyeing Zuko.

"You remember Ziyeng?" Zuko asked Aang.

"How could I forget?" Aang said, wincing at a past memory. "Wasn't he the guy who I had to—?"

"Yes, that's the one," Zuko nodded. "Anyway, he's killed another person."

"_Another person?_" Aang asked incredulously. "Who was it this time?"

"His first victim's younger brother," Zuko solemnly remarked. "And this time we couldn't catch him,"

"And why do you need me?" Aang asked.

"Well, considering how you…" Zuko didn't know how to put it. "I don't know how, but he got what you took from him back. Tom-Tom was burned. If we find him, you're gonna have to take it back _again_ and we'll have to find out how to stop him."

"Did his wife say anything?"

"Jia refuses to speak."

Aang grunted. Then he snapped his fingers. "There's always June! You know, the crazy girl with the badger who you used to try to capture me with! We could get one of Ziyeng's possessions and track him down!"

Zuko sighed. "It looks like the best way of tracking him down right now. But it's been ten years. For all we know, she could've gotten a different job or the Shirshu may have died." Zuko started walking away.

"Well, let's hope not…" Aang looked to the sky. Then something hit him. "Do you think we'll take more than eight days?"

Zuko raised his eyebrow, "Why is that?"

"Well, between you and me," Aang whispered, smiling. He pulled out a betrothal necklace with the elemental insignias of the Water Tribe and the Air Nomads on it. "… I designed it myself. I was going to ask Katara to marry me."

It hit Zuko with immense frustration. _You've got to be kidding me_.

"What is it, Zuko? Is something wrong?"

Zuko looked away. "Er… um…"

"Hey, guys!" Suki, twenty-five appeared, noticing Zuko and smiling. "Long time, no see, _Lord _Zuko. Have you seen Sokka? I sent him out for groceries a while ago."

"Yeah, he's down the beach with Katara," Zuko pointed back in the direction the Water Tribe siblings went, immensely grateful for the save.

"Thanks!" Suki said, running off after him. "That Sokka is always so unpredictable!"

"Is it going to take more than a week?" Aang asked again. Zuko didn't answer for a few seconds, and sighed.

"Let's hope not."

**A few hours later…**

Aang and Zuko made all of their goodbyes to Kyoshi citizens and they boarded Zuko's Fire Nation airship with the sun now setting. Unfortunately, it still had to cool down because it was overused from the Southern Water Tribe sidetrack. Aang and Zuko were at a loss until they came across a sleeping Appa in a field near the Avatar Kyoshi statue.

After several minutes of waking up a now-lazy and usually resting Appa, and getting him to take off, Aang and Zuko watched Kyoshi Island shrink over distance and eventually disappear on the horizon.

"It's just like old times, isn't it?" Aang laughed, rubbing Appa's head while Zuko sat up in the back.

"Yeah," Zuko smiled faintly.

**Several minutes later…**

"Wait a minute," Aang had a sudden thought. The sun was now gone and replaced with the moon, reminding Aang of the late Princess Yue.

"What is it?" Zuko asked, laying down.

"You said Ziyeng murdered… um… the first person because Azula made him."

"That's true," Zuko sighed, closing his eyes and attempting to sleep.

"If Azula's at the Boiling Rock, then how exactly did she make him kill… um… this person."

Zuko's eyes lit up. He hadn't thought about that.

"What if she's…" Aang continued. "Escaped?"

"I would have learned about it by now unless it was very recent, but we should make sure…" Zuko nodded. "How far away is the Boiling Rock?"

"Just a few miles from where June usually is," Aang estimated.

"Then that's where we're going next." Zuko said.

**MEANWHILE**

A prisoner inside the Boiling Rock, the Fire Nation's strongest prison hold, was eating her meal, her chi being blocked against her will along with everyone else's every five or so minutes, making her unable to bend.

"Did you hear?" a male Earthbending prisoner across the table asked.

"Hear about what?" a female Firebending prisoner next to him asked.

"The Avatar and the Fire Lord are coming to visit," the Earth Kingdom prisoner said.

The first prisoner mentioned before the Earthbending prisoner's eyes widened with bloodshot eyes.

"Wow!" the Firebending prisoner across the table exclaimed. "Two of the most powerful Benders in the world coming to the most powerful prison stronghold in the world. This must be big."

The first female prisoner's eye started twitching.

"Are you alright, Azula?" the Earthbender asked from across the table.

Azula regained her composure after a second. "Yes. I'm absolutely fine."

"Glad to hear it," the other female Firebender said.

While they may have noticed Azula of the Fire Nation's eye twitching, they did not notice a slow, demonic grin form on the former Princess's lips.

--

Zuko's and Aang's discussion may seem confusing. This has to do with the past, and I'm purposely avoiding any major spoilers.


	4. Prisons and Proposals

You know what, screw the chapter pattern. I'll do the chapter I want when I want. XD

This chapter has mixed individual-character flashbacks (that take place right where Book 3 leaves off) and follows the Gaang.

To clarify, flashbacks are first-person perspective and present-day is third-person perspective.

----

FLASHBACK – TOPH'S POV

Heh heh. Even though I couldn't see anything, I could tell something was up. From the positions Twinkletoes and Katara were standing in, my suspicions were almost confirmed.

"Well, I'm _sorry_ I'm not the best painter," Sokka exclaimed lightheartedly. All of a sudden, I instinctively turned my head to the doorway, seconds before anyone else noticed; Aang and Katara were walking downstairs.

"Oh, hey guys!" Suki laughed as Katara and Aang entered the room. "Aang, come and see Sokka's wonderful painting!"

"Oh, ha, ha, Suki." Sokka mumbled, smiling.

"Wow," Aang laughed. "That looks… er… interesting."

"Yeah," Katara laughed. "I didn't know Suki could Firebend!" (A/N: the picture actually has Suki Firebending)

Looks like they wanna keep it quiet. After a few more exchanges of witty banter, I couldn't take it anymore.

"Anything you want to tell us, Twinkletoes?" I asked casually, blowing a rogue strand of hair out of my way. Not as if it mattered, blind as I was.

"I'm sorry?" Aang asked.

"Oh, nothing," I looked away, pretending not to care, then smiling.

"Oh no, don't tell me you—." Katara started, but stopped herself. Too late. The damage had been done. _Score one for the Blind Bandit! Looks like I was right after all_.

"Don't tell me you what?" Zuko asked, raising an eyebrow.

"They probably--." Mai began, but was cut off.

"It's nothing," Katara said, turning to Aang, and quickly changing the subject. Nervously changing the subject, I might add. "So, uh, how about that painting?... Eh heh."

Sokka turned to Katara suspiciously. "Katara, I've known you for fourteen years. I know when you're lying. And you're blushing."

"Blushing? I'm not blushing!" Katara looked away.

_Oh, this is just too good._

I turned to Twinkl to my left, who had been staying quiet this whole time. Sokka turned to me.

"Toph…?" Sokka was looking at me for help since I brought it up. "Any idea?"

"Don't say it," Katara turned to me angrily and warned me warily.

I pointed to Aang with my left hand. Everyone's eyes followed my left hand like buzzing bees.

I pointed to Katara with my right hand. Everyone intently watched as I cupped my hands, put my hands together, and created a kissing motion with my hands, and pucked my lips for good measure.

2 DAYS AGO FROM PRESENT DAY

"I'm bored," Toph grumbled, sitting in a chair.

Upon returning home to the Bei Fong Family, she got in _huge_ trouble with her parents for running away, and on top of that leaving Master Yu and Xin Fu for dead. (To Toph's disappointment, they were found by the Bei Fong Family after being three days late for arrival). Xin Fu was ready to kill Toph, but was held back by his other Earth Rumble VI contenders.

After four years of boring being-treated-like-a-helpless-girl treatment, Toph was finally able to leave. It goes without saying that her father wouldn't let her, aaaaand she left anyway.

Six years later, after a painful experience she need not reminisce, Toph was a competitor in a worldwide Earthbending battle tournament.

"Relax, Ms…" a man read a slip of paper. "Shi Tong. You're up right after someone loses in the next battle."

Toph had obviously had to keep her identity secret, so she quick-thinkingly had come up with a name of some giant mythical owl she had never actually met, but Aang, Katara, and Sokka had. Fortunately, no one knew it was a boy's name. Not even Toph.

"And now," an announcer said. "Put your hands together for semifinalist Wan! Shi! Toooooooong!"

_Oh, great, another overzealous announcer. I've had enough of those_. Toph stepped onto the battlefield. The rules were the same as Earth Rumble VI: first person to fall off the platform loses.

"And, in the other corner, semifinalist… Haru of the Earth Kingdom!"

Toph's ears perked at the mention of an old Earthbending friend.

"Well, long time no see, Toph." Haru laughed, stepping on stage.

"Toph?" Toph asked innocently. "It's Wan."

"Yeah, okay," Haru said.

_This'll be over quickly_.

And indeed it was. It took Toph a second to pull a rock out of the Earth and hurl it at Haru, who was hit. He didn't fall off, and Earthbended a few large rocks at Toph, who avoided them with her visions. She then grabbed the announcer's podium (humorously causing him to fall to the ground) and bended the metal. After ten years of training, Toph had become just as fluent with Metalbending as she was with Earthbending. She formed a suit of armor out of the podium and flew at Haru, knocking him off the platform.

"And the winner is… moving on to the final round… Wan… Shi… Tong!"

After the congratulatory walking away and prideful boasting at the other contestants, Toph walked outside.

"Miss Bei Fong?" a mailman asked, walking up to her. "I heard you were at the tournament."

"Yes, what is it?"

"Here's a letter." The mailman told her bluntly, pulling out a letter.

"Hrm…" Toph said, opening up the letter.

_Dear Toph,_

_Hello, my name is Bato from the Southern Water Tribe. A friend of yours, Sokka is going to propose to his friend Suki._

_He decided not to send you an invitation after... you know. Though Sokka may disagree with me, from what I've heard_

_I don't believe you hold much of a grudge. So, I am personally inviting you to Kyoshi Island eight days from the sending_

_of this letter, the date of which can be seen below._

_All of your friends will be there. My regards,_

_-Bato_

Toph closed her eyes and thought. While this would give her the opportunity she had been looking for to meet with Aang, Katara, and the others after several years, she knew deep within that she would never forgive Sokka for what he had done to her. _Alright, I'll go_, she told herself.

"Miss Shi Tong, you're up for the finals!" a voice came from inside. Toph pocketed the letter and walked back inside.

FLASHBACK – AANG'S POV

_Oh, great. The secret's out._

"Is this true?!" Sokka whipped around to face me.

Er… meh, there's no use hiding it anymore. "Uh… yeah, it's true."

"Well, first I've got to set up some rule—"

"No, Sokka!" It was Katara's turn to lash around. "No rules. You have no authority over us."

"Well, Katara, I'm just saying—"

"No, Sokka! Aang is my boyfriend, and there's nothing you can do about it!"

Ooh, "boyfriend". I like the sound of that.

A loud whistle started sounding.

"Oh, heavens me," Iroh exclaimed, turning to the tea. "I'll be right back!"

"Well, you make a great couple!" Suki gave them the thumbs-up.

"Er, so… what do you guys want to do after this?" Katara asked, changing the subject. "I mean, we're clearly done traveling the world to defeat the Fire Lord."

"Yeah, no more defeating the Fire Lord," Zuko laughed. "That's my role now!"

Everyone laughed. "I never would have thought my rash nephew of all people would become so humorous!" Iroh remarked, carrying teapots. Zuko went over to help him. "Now, let's cut the small talk and let's drink some of Ba Sing Se's finest tea!"

I smiled. These were my friends. And they always would be.

PRESENT DAY

"There it is!" Aang pointed out a large pentagonal prison holding with a boiling lake inside. "That's gotta be it!"

"Yes, that is definitely it," Zuko nodded. "Where are we going to land?"

"There's a piece of land right outside." Aang pointed. "We can leave Appa there,"

And so they landed. It was late at night, and very dark. Appa settled down to sleep.

"Alright, let's go in," Aang told Zuko. Zuko nodded.

"It's just like old times, isn't it?" Zuko smirked. Aang nodded.

Aang and Zuko walked up the cliffs and to the large gondola.

"Good evening, Fire Lord, Avatar, we've been expecting you." A guard said, opening it for them.

_How?_ Aang wondered. He shrugged and the gondola slowly descended.

"So what brings you here, Lord Zuko?" the warden asked. It was the same warden from the last encounter in the Boiling Rock ten years ago. He had aged a bit and was in his 50's now. It was very ironic how the warden was antagonistic to Zuko so long ago, trying to stop his escape with Chit-Sang, Suki, Sokka, and Hakoda, going so far as trying to sacrifice his life to stop them from escaping, and now he aiding them.

"My sister, Azula, was involved in an… assassination… nine years ago, and now a similar one happened and we think she's involved. Has anyone escaped?"

"We've had five successful escapes in our long history," the warden acknowledged. "No one has escaped."

"Then we have to talk to her," Aang said. Zuko nodded.

The Warden sighed. "Very well. I'll provide you an escort to her holding cell as soon as the prisoners get back in lockdown."

After the gondola landed, Aang and Zuko stepped out and were escorted to Azula's holding cell.

Zuko reached for the doorknob, but was interrupted by a "Hello, brother," before the door was even open.

"Azula!" Zuko yelled. "Why did you do it?"

"Do what, Zuzu?" Azula taunted. Aang opened the door.

"You made ex-Admiral Ziyeng kill Tom-Tom!"

Azula looked genuinely shocked, in succession making Zuko and Aang look shocked. Zuko closed his eyes.

"I have nothing to do with that godforsaken tattletale anymore!" Azula spat, smiling nonetheless in her coldhearted ways. "And who is Tom-Tom?"

Zuko went face-to-face with Azula. "Look, I may have just sent you here after what happened to my _wife_, but I still don't forgive you for it. And killing her brother just makes me…" Zuko paused and yelled out in rage, Azula still smirking.

"How did you contact Ziyeng?!"

"I _told you_, I had nothing to do with Ziyeng! Now leave me here!"

Angrily, Zuko's flames started producing fire and prepared to attack.

Aang hastily grabbed Zuko's shoulder, shaking his head. Zuko turned around, and the flames were gone.

"You're right, Aang," Zuko sighed, then turned to Azula angrily. "But I'll never forgive you."

"Suit yourself," Azula shrugged.

They walked out, leaving the Fire Nation soldier that escorted them to close Azula's cage. They were around the corner, and wasn't able to hear the Firebending that knocked the soldier down a few stories, or the subsequent jet propulsion.

"Wow, I thought this would take a week or two," Aang said, surprised.

"That's because we thought she was involved and would have to spend a whole week just getting her to tell us what we wanted to know, plus we had to find June. But now we know Ziyeng had some other reason for killing Tom-Tom. Now we need to find June."

"I guess you're right," Aang admitted.

FLASHBACK – ZUKO'S POV

"You were always great at making tea, Uncle." I drank some of Uncle's famous jasmine tea. "So where _are_ we gonna go?"

"I'd like to go back to the Southern Water Tribe," Katara suggested. "It's been a long time, I'd like to be able to see Gran Gran again."

"Yeah, me too!" Sokka nodded. "We can bring Hakoda, Bato, and Pakku back with us, too!"

"I have to stay here," Uncle said, stroking his beard with his left hand as he poured us some more tea.

"I guess I have to go back to the capital," I sighed and backed it up with a lighthearted joke. "To become Fire Lord because _someone_ is too lazy to handle the responsibilities!"

"_Too lazy_?" Iroh chuckled. "Fire Lord was never my game. You, Zuko, were given the birthright to the throne when that crown was placed on your father's head. Besides, I've never heard of a Fire Lord that makes the best tea in the city! I'm staying here in Ba Sing Se."

Everyone laughed.

"I guess I'll back to the Royal Palace with you, though, Zuko." Mai sighed, and I smiled at her, brushing her hair.

"So that means I'm going to the Southern Tribe with Katara," Aang said a little too quickly, causing Katara and subsequently Aang to blush.

"I guess I'll tag along with you. Is it a problem if we take a quick detour at Kyoshi Island?" Suki added.

"Not at all!" Katara laughed. "It's perfect… and what about you, Toph?"

"I guess I should go back home to my family in Gaoling Village," Toph admitted, then added a half-sigh and a laugh. "Though I guess I'm going to regret it."

I sighed. There was still a burning question I had to ask Ozai (I refused to call him "father" anymore), regarding my mother. Something tells me he didn't tell me everything during the Eclipse.

PRESENT DAY

Katara, Sokka, Suki, and Momo were all eating at a Kyoshi fish café.

"When did Aang say he'd be back again?" Suki asked.

"Within a week," Sokka said while gulping down lots of meat. Momo was resting on the table and Sokka almost ate Momo, who flew away, causing Suki and Katara laugh and Sokka to pout.

Suddenly, a messenger hawk arrived.

"What's this?" Katara asked, grabbing the letter.

"Oh, hey, Hawky Jr.!" Sokka said, ruffling the fur atop the messenger hawk's head. After Hawky never returned from a letter sent to Toph's family, Sokka eventually got a new one for old time's sake.

Katara read the letter to herself.

_Dear Katara,_

_After some thinking, I decided to join you all for Sokka's proposal. While I may not have completely_

_forgiven Sokka for what he did, I am still willing to meet up with you. Please tell everyone or give_

_them this letter. Thank you,_

_-Toph, letter written by an old friend_

"Er… Sokka…" Katara glanced at Sokka. "Can I speak to you for a second…" she eyed Suki for a brief moment. "… in private?"

"Er, sure, Katara," Sokka confusedly got up as the two left the café.

"Okay, so what is it?" Sokka said, noticing Katara grinning from ear-to-ear. "What are you smiling about?"

"Why didn't you tell me?" Katara laughed, punching Sokka playfully in the arm.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Sokka tried to sound confused. To no avail. Katara showed him the letter. "Alright, you caught me. I wanted it to be a surprise. I told the Tribe when we left… and I kinda also told Zuko."

"This is going to be great!" Katara squealed, and Sokka rolled his eyes. Katara looked at Sokka. "Wait… you don't even have a betrothal necklace, do you?"

"I can't!" Sokka tried to defend himself. "She's been tracking me down every second! And just when I have the time, _Fire Lord Zuko_ of all people show up! But _Toph's_ coming? She even wrote… er… had it written herself that she still doesn't forgive me!" Sokka confusedly walked around trying to make sense of it as if he was still high on cactus juice.

"It's okay," Katara comforted your brother. "It's not your fault you didn't—"

"Didn't _what_, Katara? I was confused! I had no idea what I was doing!"

"Sokka!" Katara lectured her brother, for probably the millionth time now. "You didn't mean to—"

"Of course I didn't mean to!" Sokka blurted out, and he apparently was in another one of his angry guilt trips that happened occasionally nowadays. "But that doesn't mean I didn't break her heart!"

"Get over it, Sokka," Katara said. "And sometimes it seems like you two _were in fact_ made for each other."

Sokka glared at Katara, but didn't answer, looking away.

"Hey guys, what's going on?" Suki casually asked to the angry Katara and guilty Sokka.

FLASHBACK – AZULA'S POV

This couldn't be happening! So close to victory! I could not have failed! How could that Water Tribe peasant be so resourceful?!

"You're going in the brig, Azula!" a few Firebending soldiers grabbed me by the handcuffs, and hurled me into a prison cell. My own soldiers, turning on me. My brother is Fire Lord? No, no, _no!_

"No, you can't do this to me! I'm the Fire Lord! I'm the Fire Lord! I'm the Fire Lord!" I cried, despondent.

"I'm the Fire Lord!" I screamed louder. "_I'm the Fire Lord!!!!_" I screamed at the top of my lungs, Firebending out of my mouth in a futile attempt to take back what had happened and change the past.

I gave up, and collapsed on the cold ground.

"I'm… the… Fire Lord…" I mumbled, crying, on the floor. "I'm…. the… Fire…"

PRESENT DAY

When Zuko and Aang boarded on the gondola, they didn't realize a girl right behind them, fighting off the Boiling Rock's guards. When they got off, they had no idea a former princess was using blue fire as jet propulsion to cross the deadly river. And when they boarded Appa, they most certainly didn't realize the Firebending prodigy gathering her strength and taking off after them with her personal fire jets.

Azula smiled once more and laughed evilly and quietly. She would not lose this time.

----

Ooh, some _hint-hints_ towards something at the end with Sokka. More flashbacks on that later.

Next chapter is Ziyeng-centric.

Please review! :D


	5. The Refugee's Secret

Alright, now we finally get to see what happened to good ol' Ziyeng after the Prologue. Enjoy!

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_From the point the Gaang are at, at the end of our last chapter, the following events take place two days previous. This is the day after the events of the Prologue, roughly taking place during Zuko's trip to the Southern Tribe and Kyoshi._

It had been twelve hours since Tom-Tom's unfortunate accidental death. Ziyeng had immediately grabbed a few necessary items and ran away. His wife Jia had completely refused to acknowledge him, but something told him she wasn't about to give him away either. A boat was preparing to ship to the Earth Kingdom capital of Ba Sing Se. Right at the dock, Ziyeng hid behind some crates.

"Ahem," Ziyeng cleared his throat as a soldier dressed in usual Fire Nation warrior attire stepped by his hiding place.

"Ah, ex-Admiral Ziyeng, what brings you he--?" the soldier started, but Ziyeng had already taken him by surprise, jumping him and throwing him behind the crates and knocked him unsconscious.

A few minutes later, Ziyeng stepped out from behind the capes. The boat's large engines were already running.

"Come on, Guiren!" another soldier called to Ziyeng, calling him the identity of an unconscious man behind a few crates. Ziyeng, not speaking, ran on and got in line to board the ship. By the time everyone else except him was on, he hesitated. Just then he heard a mailman coming full-speed, frantically waving a slip of paper.

"Murder in the Royal Family!" the mailman yelled out. "Murder in the Royal Family!"

Ziyeng ignored the mailman and boarded the ship, closing the entrance.

"Hey, can't you hear me?" the mailman cried. No one else was able to hear him, already inside the ship. Ziyeng smirked from inside the mask and went to join the rest of the troops. It would be a short trip.

FLASHBACK – ZIYENG'S POV – SIX YEARS AGO

After _finally_ being released from prison, I was released and was allowed to live a normal life. Lord Zuko could be so forgiving. My wife Jia, accepted me back, Longwei was now 18 and had already left the house, and my 10-year-old daughter Liu was too young to understand, or she didn't want to. I learned that Zuko actually beat Azula for a while, and then settled himself down, sending her to the Boiling Rock to "waste away for eternity". I soon came to discover that everyone I walked by gave me dark glances of hate. I sort of got used to it.

Having been stripped of my military status, I settled down to a quiet life with Jia. However, three times a week, I would practice my Firebending just to stay in shape in case the need presented itself.

About two years later, I got so fed up with my quiet days that I decided to enter in a tournament that welcomed all three Bending styles (since there was only one Airbender in the world). Imagine my surprise when I heard the Fire Lord would be attending as a competitor. Jia watched me go and I trained relentlessly for the weeks before the great tournament, simply called "Tourney" began.

When it finally came time, the tournament was a huge success. I watched thousands of Firebenders, Earthbenders, and Waterbenders from around the world, fighting other people of their same bending styles. I found the competition quite easy, becoming one of the sixty-four Firebending finalists. Waiting for my first Multi-bending round against a Waterbender, I took a seat. As a competitor I had one of thousands of reserved seats. I had a discussion with an old man next to me. I didn't know it at the time, but the discussion would change my life.

"Do you like to Firebend?" he asked casually, sipping tea.

"Yes, I practice a lot," I admitted.

"My nephew practiced a lot," the old man chuckled. "Much more than everyone I ever knew."

"Is your nephew in this tournament?" I asked.

"Oh, yes, he is," the old man sipped some more of his tea. The crazy old man had a whole pitcher of tea to pour himself at will. "He was hoping the Avatar could enter in this tournament, but that little sap rarely bends anymore,"

"The Avatar?" I asked. "Did your nephew want to face the Avatar?"

"Oh, yes," the old man chuckled. "Again."

"Again? Your nephew has faced the Avatar before?" I asked. "That must be quite the honor."

"Honor," the old man chuckled again, slightly to my annoyance. "How ironic. The first time he faced the Avatar he thought he was _losing_ his honor."

I looked at the man confusedly. A pause in the conversation. "Would you like some tea?" he asked.

"No, I'm up in a few hours," I said.

"Ah," he said. "I see you're facing a Northern Waterbender. Let me give you a few tips,"

"What, are you a Waterbender?" I asked. He looked like a Firebender based on what he was wearing.

"No," he said, heating his tea if just to prove me wrong. "But I studied them, and I was able to develop a new technique based off of their bending styles. It almost made me feel as if I _was_ a Waterbender."

"A Firebender and Waterbender?" I asked, laughing. "You're no Avatar."

The old man went into a short burst of laughter, then quickly recovered. "How true is that?" Then he put on a serious face. "You know, I've always wondered," he said, pulling out quill, ink, and paper as if they were always there. He drew the symbols of the four nations then split them into squares on a 2x2 grid. "We are Firebenders, correct?"

"Corr…ect…" I said, now completely lost and confused.

"Well, that puts us in this square in the elemental grid," he continued, circling the Firebending logo at the bottom-right side of the paper. "The Avatar is in the center, with the power of all four bending arts," the old man then put a circle in the center of the grid, with the circle in the corner of all four charts.

"What does this have to do with anything?" I demanded, confused.

"Now, if the Avatar is the dot in the center that maintains the element's balance. And everyone else is in one of the four boxes. Now, listen carefully. What about the dividing lines between the nations?"

The old man pointed out the four lines that split the square and connected them. "What if someone was able to _cross_ that boundary? Now, all benders start as a dot in the center of their part of the grid. As they grow more experienced in that Bending style, the dot spreads to fill out more of their box. Now, if their entire part of the grid is completely full, and the bender gets even more experienced, then how will it spread? That theoretical square surrounding your elemental experience just may burst, allowing your experience to spread into other parts of the grid, in effect allowing you to bend another element. Now, for all I know, this could be extremely dangerous and—."

"So you're saying if, for example, I fully master Firebending to its peak, it could open up a channel that would allow it to become possible to bend some of the other elements?" I interrupted. This idea was confusing and unrealistic, but it interested me greatly.

"It's just a theory!" the old man exclaimed. "But you never know. Now are you sure you don't want some tea? I have to tend to my nephew. He is awfully impatient."

"No thanks," I said again. "By the way, who's your nephew?"

The old man smiled. "The Fire Lord!"

PRESENT DAY (2 days before the events of Chapter 4)

After a few hours of toil and labor and avoiding interacting with other soldiers, Ziyeng docked in Ba Sing Se. Now he could finally live a free refugee life, free from the Fire Lord's wrath. It's not as if he _meant_ to kill Tom-Tom. And it's not as if he _meant_ for the person he was training to just so happen to be Mai's little brother. They were probably hunting him right now. As he passed, an Earth Kingdom girl who looked in her early 20's was running from an Earthbender who looked in his 40's.

"You ran from home, you came home willingly after half a year!" the Earthbender yelled after the girl. "And then you run away from home?"

"I'm twenty-two!" the girl yelled. "I have the right to freedom! Now I'm leaving Ba Sing Se and you're not going to stop me!"

_This looks like the perfect chance to prove myself as a good citizen and start off good. Gah, if only I could still bend!_

"Get back here!" the man yelled.

"No way!" the girl yelled, using Earthbending to push the ground out and catapulting her to the ceiling. To Ziyeng's amazement, she bended a hole in the ceiling allowing her to fly through, then closed the hole again.

"Gah!" the man who was chasing her got on his needs. "Xin Fu needs the reward money! Come back, Toph!"

Shrugging, Ziyeng went back in line. Before he knew it he was inside the city and in Earth Kingdom garments. With his large pay from being Admiral in the past, he was able to construct a house and rest there. It was almost nightfall, and a few boys were playing outside. Ziyeng was resting outside his rented home on a bench on the front porch, observing the streets nearby. The boys were picking on a young girl, probably ten, though she acted very mature for her age, with short black hair and dark brown eyes.

"Hey, Hope, I heard your dad was so poor, he had to get you here on the _Serpent's Pass_!"

"So?" the girl yelled back. "He's rich now! You boys are so immature!"

"Hey!" a boy, offended, advanced toward her, and picked up a rock with Earthbending and hurled it at Hope. Ziyeng stood up.

"Eek!" the girl screamed, and instinctively ran away. Ziyeng stepped down the steps.

"Haha!" a troublemaker taunted, "You can't bend!"

"Can't bend?" the girl turned around, clearly angry. "I'll show you bending!"

The girl turned around, and summoned an enormous rock twice her size. "I've had it with you jerks!" she hurled the huge rock at them, the boys narrowly missed, running away like cowards.

_That's amazing. I've never seen a girl so young bend so well..._ Could this be the replacement for Tom-Tom he had been looking for? Deep down, Ziyeng knew he had to teach _someone_ how to learn his revolutionary skill, and with Hope's prodigal skills it looked possible. Preferably a child; they could learn it early and have more time to develop it… maybe it would even catch on. Plus, what the Avatar did to Ziyeng, he would never do to an innocent child… but this girl was younger than Tom-Tom, which made the risks bigger. He knew he had to be more careful. Fortunately, advanced Earthbending wasn't as nearly as dangerous as advanced Firebending.

"Hello, Hope, is it?" Ziyeng tried to sound genuinely friendly, walking up to the young Earthbender.

"Mom says I'm not allowed to talk to strangers…" Hope said, wide-eyed and backing away from the approaching Ziyeng.

"Oh, oh, it's okay," Ziyeng showed he was sincere; he had to, or he wouldn't be able to teach such a strong young bender. "I just want to tell you a secret. It's about bending. You don't have to come within ten feet of me if you don't like. I can't even bend!"

"Er… okay," Hope sounded wary, about twelve feet from him. "What's your… secret?"

FLASHBACK – ZIYENG'S POV – TWO MONTHS AGO (2 months before present day events of this chapter)

_Wow_, I thought. This Firebending boy was extremely skilled for his age of eleven. Perhaps… perhaps he could teach him… Deep down, I knew that I had to teach _someone_, or the technique would be lost.

"Hello, Tom-Tom, is it?" Ziyeng sounded genuinely friendly, walking up to the young Firebender.

"That's my name!" the young boy grinned. "The Fire Lord's my cousin!"

"Oh, you don't say?" I mumbled. Darn, this would make it a bit complicated. Even after ten years, he still had less-than-friendly relationships with Lord Zuko.

"So whatcha want, Admiral Ziyeng?" Tom-Tom asked.

"How do you know my na—," I started, worried he would turn me down because of my… er… past relationship with his sister.

"Oh, you're famous for your battles during the war! Your brother is… er, was… too!"

"Yes, Admiral Zhao was a great man," I reminisced with childhood memories of my brother and me. "So, Tom-Tom, I've got a secret for you. Do you want to know it? It's about bending."

"Cool!" Tom-Tom said. "So what's your secret?"

PRESENT DAY

"What's your… secret?" Hope asked warily.

Ziyeng sighed. Should he really bring a young girl into this? An older boy _died_ because of him. A younger girl wouldn't make things any easier… but Hope's skills far surpassed Tom-Tom's at a younger age. _Alright, I'll do it_. Ziyeng took in a deep breath. Here goes nothing.

"So, Hope," Ziyeng said, stroking his beard. "How would you like to learn how to bend all four elements? Not just Earth, but Water, Fire, and even Air."

Hope's eyes widened. "That's not possible."

Ziyeng chuckled. "Oh, believe me, it is." Ziyeng thought back to his encounter with Aang. "You have no idea."

----

"If only I could still bend?" What's that supposed to mean? Well… you'll find out. XD

In case you don't remember, Hope is the daughter that was born to the refugee family in _The Serpent's Pass_ and a short part of _The Drill_.

Please review! It really motivates authors to keep writing when they get feedback. :D Not that it's a bribe… or is it? :) lol jk


	6. Rocks, Reunions, and Romance

Well, we're back for a sixth chapter. You may have noticed I've been doing these chapters daily. Well, after Chapter 8, I have a hiatus that will last four weeks. Sorry, guys. There's a chance I'll get one in on the weekends, but I doubt it. And thanks, Second daughter of Eve, BlackestSpirit, and The Sun's Fire for reviewing. :D

Now, this chapter is completely Gaang-oriened. For you romantic softies, you'll definitely like some of the flashbacks; if you don't like the romance, I'd suggest skipping them. No Kataang or Zutara, though……. yet. (evil laughter)

----

A standalone bar sat in Earth King territory. It was rarely visited except by its regulars, and two of its rare visitors were about to arrive.

"There it is," Zuko said, pointing out the small building in the middle of the woods. "There's June's bar."

"How are you so sure?" Aang asked with curiosity.

"I've been there twice," Zuko thought back. "Looking for you,"

"Eh-heh," Aang sighed. "Good… times?"

They landed Appa, who was already getting tired again. They had ridden him all the way from the Fire Nation to the Earth Kingdom, and it was almost morning.

_Only five days to Sokka_'s _proposal_, Zuko thought.

_Only six days to my proposal_, Aang thought.

When they walked in the bar, they found in its usual state; the hustle and bustle it was a decade ago. And… would you believe their luck? June, now in her 30's, was still there! She didn't look nearly as fierce as she once was. She happened to look up, to see the Fire Lord and Aang.

"Hello," she mumbled, drinking a shot. "Lost your girlfriend again?"

"No," Zuko shook his head, rolling his eyes. "I need you to find someone else." Zuko pulled out the drawing of Ziyeng.

June, slumped back in her chair, lazily grabbed the piece of paper. "Nyla hasn't seen any action in years. Now you sure this guy's touched it, else it won't work."

"Yes," Zuko said, slightly annoyed. "He drew it himself."

"Okay, okay" June mumbled, taking one more chug and stepping up. She walked out her door. They found June's old Shirshu, sound asleep,

"Wake up, lil' girl," June stroked the Shirshu's head, causing its eyes to open. "I have a job for you,"

Aang smiled as the Shirshu excitedly got up and wagged its tail. It sniffed the drawing, and immediately started going crazy.

"Jump on, you two!" June said. Zuko jumped on.

"I'll go with Appa!" Aang said. "I'll follow you two."

"Got it," Zuko nodded as Aang Airbended from where he was standing onto his sky bison's lap, waking up the tired old Appa,

"So where would you like to take him after we catch him?"

"You don't do delivery services," Zuko said, confused.

"That's because the first time you wanted to catch your girlfriend yourself, and the second time you just wanted to find your uncle with his sweaty sandal."

"Kyoshi," Aang said, chuckling at what June said. "We've got business there." Aang then turned to the rising Appa. "Yip-yip!"

And the search was on. Almost instantly the five of them were gone… which was why they failed to notice what happened next.

Almost out of nowhere, the entirety of June's bar was up in flames, and without warning. Everyone quickly ran for his or her life out of the small burning wreck.

"What do you think you're doing?!" the bartender screamed, walking towards the origin point covered in shadow.

"Barely missing my target," a female voice grumbled to where he was heading. "Now, if you excuse me, I've got an errand at Kyoshi Island and I have to run." Out of nowhere, a white-hot blast of blue fire catapulted itself before the bartender, who ducked out of the way just in time as the blue fire dissipated in on itself.

Seconds later, everyone's shocked faces got even more shocked as they saw the mysterious woman catapult herself high in the sky… with _fire_.

"Now there's something you don't see everyday," a man outside the bar said.

FLASHBACK – SUKI'S POV – FIVE YEARS AGO

Ergh… Believe me, I love Sokka… but how could he be so _stupid_?!

I mean, he just _has_ to be the most thickheaded, oblivious guy I've ever met!

Um… let me start from the beginning. So I was minding my own business after five years of dating Sokka. I think five years is enough, don't you? You know, for a marriage proposal? So for the past few months we had been touring the world and visiting lots of old friends – Bumi in Omashu, Fire Lord Zuko, the Earth King and ex-Freedom Fighters in Ba Sing Se, and so on. Well, we had been spending one to two weeks at each place, and we were three days into our visit to Toph's residence, far away from her parents' home.

I had grown sick of it. During our five years together we had had many romantic places, and too many moments where it seemed like the perfect place to propose. Anyway, we were in Gaoling Village, and Toph was gone for a few minutes. I sat next to Sokka who was lying down and looking at the beach that was near us. After a few minutes, I decided to give him a hint and see how he'd react.

"Hey, Sokka," I said casually. "You know what would be funny? If you proposed to me."

"Yeah," Sokka said, still admiring the ocean. All right, time to pour out Plan B.

"Do you think you ever will?" I asked, with a hint of annoyance in my voice that he _apparently_ didn't catch.

"Maybe," Sokka shrugged. This was not the response I was hoping for.

"We've been dating five years!" I said, rather loud. He definitely caught this one. "Don't you think it's been long enough?"

Sokka didn't answer, and looked away, much to my aggravation. Just as I was about to speak again, he spoke. "I guess I can't make the commitment. We've _been_ through this. We're nineteen! I just… think it's too young!"

"Can't make a commitment? Too young?" I retorted. "What's wrong with being too young?... or maybe you don't love me the way you act like you do and are hoping someone better comes along! Because _whenever_ I bring it up, you try to avoid the conversation!"

"Suki!" Sokka gasped, shocked.

"No, we're through!" I yelled. Of course I didn't mean it. We'd done these temporary break-ups many times before over similar topics but got together within a week. Maybe I was too rough on him, though… I just felt especially hurt this time. Was that really it? He was afraid of making a commitment? Hurt, I walked away from him to our rented apartment we were staying at, telling him to "get his own apartment".

PRESENT DAY – THE GAANG AT KYOSHI ISLAND

Funny. Yesterday Katara and Sokka, clearly mad at each other over something, just walked away when Suki walked up to them. Suki thought it was just another sibling moment.

That was yesterday, and today everyone was cheery because they had four new arrivals today: from what Iroh said, he would be arriving early today. A few hours after that, Sokka's father and swordsmaster, Hakoda and Piandao, were slated to show up thanks to Pakku, who collected them. Bumi was already here, and seemed to be content hanging out by himself around the Kyoshi statue, which wasn't visited often. Finally, Toph was arriving late.

Sokka had spent a long time thinking up an excuse for all these arrivals, and settled on the easiest and simplest he could think of. A 10th War's-end anniversary reunion!

Before anyone knew it, Iroh's Fire Navy ship had already arrived with tea (what else?) in his hands.

"Greetings, ex-General Iroh!" Katara bowed her head. "Your nephew is hunting down a prisoner with Aang!"

"That's my nephew, always tracking things down," Iroh said, shaking his head. "And please, just call me Iroh."

Just as Iroh settled in, Pakku showed up with Piandao and Hakoda, and surprisingly, Gran Gran.

"Dad!" Sokka and Katara yelled, greeting them warmly. "Gran Gran! Pakku! Piandao!"

Finally, several hours later, the final arrival showed up on a small boat for two with… Haru!

"Toph!" Katara ran, being the first to greet Toph. "Haru!"

"Wassup, Sugar Queen?" Toph asked in her casual ways, stepping off the boat. "Finally, land!"

"Hello, Katara," the mustached man said to her.

"Okay, listen you two," Katara whispered as everyone started to approach. "Sokka, Zuko, and I are the only ones who know about _you-know-what_. I think you found out by mistake,"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Toph yawned. "I just want to lay back."

"Hello, Toph, did you have a good trip?" Iroh walked up to where they were as Sokka and Suki approached.

"Hey, Iroh. Well, if you consider a blind girl who can't see in the ocean paddling purely on what a man tells you to do 'good', yes, I did have a good trip."

"Hello, Toph!" Suki and Sokka both said, Sokka clearly nervous.

"Hey, Suki!" Toph shook Suki's outstretched hand. "Great to see ya again!"

Sokka sighed. This would be tougher than he thought.

FLASHBACK – SOKKA'S POV – STILL FIVE YEARS AGO

_Oh, no. Not again._

Here she goes, breaking up with me again. I swear, she rehearses these speeches of hers. I don't really love her? Ouch. Of course I love her. As I said, I don't want to make the commitment… but why? Am I scared of getting married? Of having children? Or is it something else?

I had these inner meditations every time after she broke up with me temporarily. On the first three days, I would go to her house, but she'd never answer. On the fourth day, she'd give me a warning to stay away from her. Then I'd leave her alone on the fifth day, and on the sixth or seventh day she'd apologize, give me another brief scolding, and make up with me. It happened every time. Now I was getting used to it. Of course, I had to get my own rented room, which was on the same street.

On the first day, there was no answer.

On the second day, there was no answer.

On the third day, there was no answer, even though I saw her walking through her rented room, glaring at me.

On the fourth day, I got my warning, in the form of a note on the door, which was unusual.

On the fifth day, I left her alone.

On the sixth day, I again left her alone.

On the seventh day, to my surprise, I got no response. Nor the eighth day. Nor the ninth day. Nor the tenth day. Not even on the eleventh day did she even make a sign.

I was now really starting to worry. On the morning of the twelfth day, which was the second-to-last day we were initially scheduled to stay with Toph, I went over to Toph's house to seek some advice.

PRESENT DAY – ZUKO, AANG, AND JUNE

"How close are we?" Zuko asked. "Are you sure you have the right scent?"

"Nyla's never been wrong," June assured him, rustling the Shirshu's head. "What's that, girl? Oh, we're getting close."

It wasn't long before they reached the Outer Wall… which wasn't really an Outer Wall anymore after the Fire Nation broke through the wall with the help of the treacherous Dai Li.

Once they got in Ba Sing Se, Nyla got twitchy. "Nyla's getting twitchy. We're within a block from him."

Nyla, Appa, and June stayed back. Zuko and Aang, meanwhile, stepped forward on the empty road. There was no traitor in sight.

Suddenly, there was a sound. Avatar and Fire Lord whipped to the left. The sound grew louder… it sounded like… it sounded like a little girl _laughing_. Aang and Zuko exchanged relieved glances, that is, until a giant rock hurled across the street from where the little girl's voice was heard from. Where the rock came from was unseen; it was a large alley in between two houses.

"That rock's far too big for a young girl," Aang darkly noticed, and Zuko and Aang cautiously stepped towards the corner from the ally.

Zuko peered over, to be hit head-on with another giant rock. Zuko cried out in pain, collapsing on the ground as the girl's voice spoke once more. "Uh-oh," and another, older voice saying "I know that voice anywhere."

"Zuko!" Aang yelled, helping his old enemy up as Zuko held his throbbing head. Aang wasted no time to jump in front of the alley and saw a strange sight.

He saw a ladder being climbed up to the roof of the house to the right. Both a little ten-year-old girl and a man were climbing it. Aang turned around to see Zuko staggering towards the alleyway, and missing a loud scream. Aang turned around and Zuko ran forward. They saw a horrifying sight. The man was _carrying_ the little girl up the ladder.

"That's Ziyeng!" Zuko yelled, watching as the old man turned to him. "And he's kidnapping that girl!" With an angry yell and a flaring fist, Zuko Firebended at the old man, who craftily jumped out of the way and out of sight.

"_Get back here, you murderer_!" Zuko roared, running after him and jumping to the low ceiling.

"Wait for me!" Aang yelled, opening his glider and gliding after him.

When Zuko and Aang made it to the roof, they found nothing. No sign of him, not a trace. They looked around for the next several minutes.

"I think we've lost him, Zuko," Aang sadly said, as the still-furious Zuko turned to him. "I'm sorry,"

Zuko stayed quiet for a second, head down, and eyes closed. He then opened bloodshot angry eyes and craned his heads toward the heavens, with a loud yell and a large stream of fire.

FLASHBACK – NO POV (NARRATOR'S) – TOPH'S HOUSE, FIVE YEARS AGO

There was a knock on Toph's door. Toph yawned, walking through her house and opening it. She had gotten used to where the doorknob was now, she had always seemed to grab for the wrong side of the door…

Toph opened the door, to hear Sokka, downcast. "Hey, Toph."

"Oh, hey Sokka!" Toph said, cheerily. She then noticed something was wrong. "What is it, Sokka?"

"Nothing," Sokka sighed, settling himself on one of the living room chairs. He smiled and asked about the weather in an in-vain attempt to sound cheery.

"Seriously, you're not fooling anyone, Sokka," Toph smirked. "Especially me. I can tell when people are lying, remember? What's wrong?"

Sokka sighed again. "It's… it's Suki. We had a fight and she… she broke up with me again."

Toph laughed. "Well, she's done it before. What's got you so down about it this time?"

"Well, this may sound silly, but she usually apologizes and forgives me on the seventh day… but it's been twelve days, and she hasn't said a word."

"It's okay, Sokka," Toph tried to comfort him. "So what was she mad about this time?"

"She was angry I hadn't proposed to her after five years, I said I didn't want to make a commitment. She got real mad then and said I didn't really love her and _that's_ why I kept stalling a proposal and stormed off."

"Ouch," Toph sympathized. After a pause, she inquisitively asked, "_Do_ you really want to make a commitment?"

Sokka sighed and slouched forward, putting his elbows on his knees and his head on his hands. "Of course I do. I just… I don't know why, but I just feel like I can't."

"Is it because you don't really love her?" Toph hypothetically asked, raising her eyebrow.

To Toph's surprise, Sokka stood up.

Toph stood up. "What is it, Sokka?"

"Remember when you joined our group?"

"Of course,"

"Well… I had just been to Kyoshi Island, and heard Suki was away. I started to lose hope in a romantic relationship, since I had just lost Princess Yue, who seemed like the one… then I met you. I didn't like you at first, but…"

Toph looked away, confused and blushing. Was Sokka saying what she thought he was saying? No, he couldn't.

And this was why Toph was completely taken aback when Sokka walked up to her and kissed her. Toph had always had a small crush on Sokka, but… regardless, Toph returned the kiss. After a few seconds, they broke apart.

"Sokka, I…" Toph started, but Sokka shushed her.

"Toph, I'm sorry," Sokka quickly mumbled, running out the door.

After a few seconds, Toph blinked her blind eyes. What just happened?

PRESENT DAY – KYOSHI ISLAND

It was midnight. The moon shone high above Kyoshi Island as everyone was sleeping.

Sleeping. How convenient.

Convenient for one person, who was rocketing across the ocean.

Convenient for one person, stepping on the sands of the island.

Convenient for one person, sneaking into the trees.

Convenient for Azula, plotting a diabolical foolproof plan.

----

The flashbacks here answer a few mysteries… and raise new ones… I'm sorry Tokka haters D:

With the scene in Ba Sing Se, remember that things are not as they seem. A story can be entirely different in another's perspective.

To be honest, the next chapter is pretty much a continuation of this one. There are similar flashbacks, the same centric characters, etc.


	7. Blood, Sweat, and Tears

Okay, I kind of lied about this chapter in the last one's ending. Next chapter will have Gaang flashbacks and present-day. But for now it's time for another Ziyeng chapter.

Please note that the present-day events don't exactly concur at the same time as the Gaang's events. It's close, but not exact.

Prepare for a _very_ long chapter (like, twice as long as usual), and one of my favorites so far.

----

PRESENT DAY (TWO DAYS AGO)

"You have no idea," Ziyeng chuckled at past memories, smiling.

"What?" Hope asked inquisitively, tilting her head to the left and narrowing her eyes. "_You've_ done it before? Prove it!"

Ziyeng's smile turned into a look of sorrow and regret. "Yes, I have done it. But I can't prove it,"

"Why not?" Hope's expression became even more confused.

"I'll tell you later," Ziyeng sighed. "You've just got to trust me. So I'm offering you this. You are a really good Earthbender. One of the best I've seen for your age! Something tells me I'm not gonna live much longer. And I want to prove to the world the Avatar isn't the _only_ one who can master all four elements. Even if he _can_ master all four elements…" he caught himself rambling and quickly got to the point. "I want to help you master Earthbending. If you're good enough, you may be able to bend Water or Fire. So what do you say?"

Hope considered the options. She didn't understand a lot of what this man was saying, but he sounded sincere and she _did_ love bending. She was always fascinated with Waterbending refugees and their movements. Of course, her parents wouldn't like a mysterious man teacher her to bend.

Hope had a look of determination in her eyes. "Okay… but I'm going to need mom and dad to say okay," she started running to her house a few houses away.

"Sure thing," Ziyeng nodded. He quickly realized she'd soon ask his name. If he just told her "Ziyeng" then there's a chance someone would find out about Fire Lady Mai or Tom-Tom. He quickly feigned a fake name. "And the name's Zhao, in case your parents ask!"

"Mmkay!" Hope called back.

… A few minutes later, Hope returned. "They said it's okay! Now you can teach me!"

And thus began a beautiful apprenticeship.

FLASHBACK – ZIYENG'S POV – FIVE YEARS AGO

After that sage advice from the Fire Lord's uncle, I participated in the finals and came in eighth worldwide. It was nothing to boast about, but still. Better than I thought I would do. I lost to an Earthbender with amazing strength who spoke in third-person. Weird.

Soon after, out of pure curiosity, on a whim, I decided to try to accomplish the old man's theory. It didn't seem likely, but it didn't seem impossible either. With the way my life was going now, why not? I met a Firebending master. He was growing old, he had only just moved into the Fire Nation, and he used to be my brother's teacher (I later found out he disapproved of my brother's use of fire from anger and war). His name was Jeong Jeong. He was a wise old man, who seemed to look weary from aging. He had two vertical stars next to his right eye. He was reluctant to teach me at first, and if I hadn't coerced him into it he probably would've refused.

I came to be his second-favorite student ever. For some reason, he refused to tell me who his favorite was. I didn't have to ask who his least favorite was. After roughly four months of hard manual labor, mock Agni Kais, Firebending duels, strange exercises involving leaves and breathing, I finally achieved a rare feat: blue fire. But I didn't complain one bit. I persevered through it. Another two months gave me lightning, and another two months gave me the extremely powerful, deadly, and destructive white-hot fire that burned in intensity. Jeong Jeong had only used white fire once, and refused to use it ever again due to its destructive power. I was different. I fully mastered this form, and after one whole year of training, I was able to create an inferno of white fire _and_ a pillar of white blazes _simultaneously._ I started beating Jeong Jeong in his most challenging duels.

That was when the "crack" happened.

I had been training with Jeong Jeong for over a year at that point, and he challenged me to a duel. He believed I was "ready to move on" and he asked for one final duel. He told me that he would be "taking back nothing" in this final Agni Kai. He also told me, much to my surprise, that if I won, he would deem me a Firebending "master" once and for all, a title I had been hoping for him to call me for some time. Lastly, he told me he "wouldn't be holding anything back".

Red flames met red flames. Blue flames met blue flames. Close-range combat created explosions. Lightning bolts connected and ricocheted into the walls of the duel arena.

It all happened so fast. He had gotten me on the ground and was hurling blue blasts at me. I managed to roll out of the way. He kept doing this for several seconds. I had gotten so used to it, rolling away from his fireballs, that I was taken by surprised when I felt searing pain. He had gotten me with lightning.

I felt the lightning pulsate through my right arm, cracking through a few veins like child's play. I then attempted to create my own lightning to take him by surprise, when a miracle happened. Instead of manipulating my own lightning, I gained control of _his_ lightning. I maneuvered it through my stomach then out my other arm, aimed at my bewildered teacher. Lightning burst through my fingers… then I suddenly felt a jolt in my chest, causing me to involuntarily lurch forward, causing my hands to violently twist, in succession causing the lightning to hit the wall, an undesired target.

It felt like something inside me had split open. I had lost control of my body. Then, as quickly as it had begun… it was over. All the pain just vanished. As if in a dream, I was suddenly overcome with renewed strength. I was able to stand up in a second, all the mental and physical strain gone, with the agility of a lightweight adolescent. Both of my hands glowed with white energy, and fire almost naturally surged forward. My master ducked just in time. The fire seared through the walls until it finally vanished.

I stepped forward to my shocked master, pinning him on the ground. I prepared to summon a victory flare into the sky, when something most unexpected happened. As I let out a red flare from my index finger, several droplets of sweat that were dripping from my head… it just… flew, slowly rotating around the flare.

"Did you just… did you just Waterbend?!" Jeong Jeong asked incredulously.

I looked down at the hand that sent the flare, with pure shock on my face.

It was then that I knew that the wise old uncle had been right.

PRESENT DAY (0 DAYS AGO)

Ziyeng had been training Hope for two days now. She had shown remarkable progress for a ten year old after two days. She had three hours a day to train with Ziyeng. On his off-hours, Ziyeng would simply relax in his humble home.

On the first day, Ziyeng taught her basic exercises she already knew from natural experience, with a few rock-flinging abilities.

On the second day, Ziyeng encouraged her to have a little fun and make the biggest rocks she can bend and hurl them out of an alley.

She was clearly having fun doing it, too; she was laughing as she pounded mercilessly into a poor wall. Fortunately, the wall was well-built and could hold, and no one was inside the opposing house.

They heard a loud voice come from across the alley.

"That rock's far too big for a young girl," the voice reverberated through the alley's walls.

Hope beamed and sent another rock flying… when it hit a scarred face, which bounced back and cry out in pain.

"Uh-oh," Hope glanced around.

Ziyeng heard his cries. "I know that voice anywhere," Ziyeng narrowed his eyes. _Fire Lord Zuko_. He heard another person cry out "Zuko!"

He knelt down to the Earthbending prodigy and put a hand on her shoulder. "Now, listen to me carefully. These men will attack us. Don't listen to what they say. I want you to climb that ladder up there so we can get out of here. They'll leave us alone."

"O…okay, Mr. Zhao…" Hope whispered as she trembled with fear, quickly running to the ladder. When she was high enough, Ziyeng followed suit. Almost at the top of the ladder, Hope screamed. She lost her footing. Ziyeng, with quick reflexes, used his right hand to catch her before she hurt herself at all, and kept climbing the ladder. Just as he made it to the top, he heard an infuriated yell.

"That's Ziyeng!" the Fire Lord yelled in a harsh roar. "And he's kidnapping that girl!" Before Ziyeng could even react, Fire Lord Zuko let out a stream of fire at Ziyeng. If not for Ziyeng's quick thinking, jumping the final few ladder pegs and onto the roof. He quickly and carefully ran across the rooftops, Hope in his arms as they heard an inaudible threat from Zuko, and harmlessly dropping into a near-invisible alley.

Hope, still scared, was a bit shaky, but she wasn't too shaken up. They stayed hidden and quiet for several minutes.

"I think we've lost him, Zuko," the Avatar's consoling voice sounded.

There was a pause, and an angry roar from the Fire Lord that caused Ziyeng to flinch and Hope to quietly shriek.

A few minutes later, Ziyeng peeked over the rooftops and then through the streets to double-check. They were gone.

"Mr. Zhao, Who's Ziyeng?" Hope asked, who was showing great maturity by already having gained her composure.

"Those two people think I'm someone I'm not, someone I look like," Ziyeng craftily and successfully lied for his and Hope's own good. "They think I'm a crazy murderer." Well, that part was true. He wasn't a murderer… just… unlucky.

"Oh," Hope said.

"Now come on," Ziyeng smiled. "It's safe now. Do you want to keep training or take the rest of the day off?"

"I'll… I'll keep training, Mr. Zhao." Hope assured Ziyeng.

FLASHBACK – FIVE TO TWO YEARS AGO

Five years ago I started learning from Jeong Jeong. Four years ago I graduated from his teachings. Four years ago I finally bended another element: Water, if just barely. No matter how hard I tried, I could not even slightly manipulate Air or Earth, which surprised me, since Water was Fire's opposite and I had learned it first.

Jeong Jeong took my bending abilities quite well. After a little bit, I decided to keep my bending abilities secret… for now. He agreed and we finally parted ways.

After a few days of shock and wonder, I decided to travel to the Northern Water Tribe and practice Waterbending there. (To disguise myself from being a Firebender, I feigned being a Southern Water Tribe member who just discovered they could Waterbend). I got a teacher. They called him the "best bender in the city", and apparently he was a member of the fabled White Lotus order and the step-grandfather of two of the Avatar's old friends. They called him Master Pakku. He wholeheartedly accepted me as a student. I felt honored to be learning another bending style and guilty for not telling him my secret.

After a few months of laborious training (déjà vu for me), I was quite adept at Waterbending. I was in a practice routine, bending with two hands, when my peaceful solo training was cut short with an abrupt _crack_ came from within my chest.

It felt just like the first one. Unique, surreal, painful. When it was over, I felt the same godlike feeling that I had felt months previous. It made me wonder why other master benders hadn't experienced a "crack" at the peak of their knowledge of Bending. Was it their willpower of bending other elements, or maybe it was something about a state of mind, or past experiences. Whatever it was, it didn't bother me much.

My first time Waterbending, sweat from a victory flare, was pure accidental and natural. I waited for the inevitable, picking up the water where I had dropped it. Then it happened. My somewhat long hair blew in the wind. I was Airbending. I looked around. Fortunately, no one had discovered me.

Look out, Avatar, now there's _two_ Airbenders.

My next six months were spent mastering Waterbending. With no real masters to teach me Airbending, I trained myself, and I think I became quite good at it. When I became strong enough to fend off eight powerful Waterbenders on my own (Master Pakku's "final test"), with a maelstrom whirlool, I was officially a Master Waterbender. Airbending was a different story. I practiced at night when no one was watching, and shortly before mastering Waterbending I was able to create a spout that could carry me to great heights with air itself, or make a ball of air that could carry me around. I even went so far as to innerly consider myself an Airbending _Master_.

I left for Omashu (Ba Sing Se was flooded with tourists that would make it a pain, so I went for the second option). Even when I arrived, a final crack to allow Earthbending seemed to not come. I waited and waited, and even attempted to perform the movements of Earthbending without actually bending. A few months later, my crack came, jolting me from my sleep. About thirty seconds later, the rocky ground below me formed a ripple. I couldn't believe it. I was able to bend all four elements. I… didn't know what to think for the next few hours. I couldn't sleep. I had great difficulty jumping and cheering for myself as a near-Avatar.

The next morning, I did the same thing as I did with the Northern Water Tribe to Omashu; I found a Master, feigned just realizing I could bend, and going from there. The King of Omashu, a wise and powerful man named Bumi, offered to teach a novice at such an old age, saying it would be "interesting". I was honored to train under the great King of Omashu himself, even if I _did_ think he was crazy. Regardless, he is still to this day the best Earthbender I had ever met.

This training took another whole year. I found Earthbending to be the hardest to learn. It wasn't Firebending's natural opposite, but for some reason I still had a hard time with it. Eventually, though, I was able to create columns from the ground, create fissures from the Earth, create armor out of the Earth, and create Earth "waves" with my feet. After a long battle with Master Bumi, I was fully accepted as a Master Earthbender. Finally, my mission was complete.

As a wise Avatar once said, "It was hard, hard work. But the results were worth it."

Could I, a lowly general stripped of his status and forced to murder out of blackmail, have mastered all four elements, something no known man had done before without having the status as Avatar? I couldn't believe it for the first few days, it was almost too surreal.

At last, with a dream fully realized, I had two things to do in mind. One, I wanted to see the Fire Lord's uncle again, and two, I wanted to share my knowledge with the world: what better way to start that off than a duel with the Avatar?

PRESENT DAY – 3 DAYS FROM NOW

Ziyeng had been training Hope for a total of five days now. She was already showing considerable promise. On the fifth day of training, Ziyeng sat on a park bench as Hope Earthbended with her feet (something that took Ziyeng a whole month to do during his training).

"Mr. Zhao?" Hope asked as she lay on the ground, arms relaxed behind her head as she kicked at the air, a few medium-sized rocks springing forward.

"What is it, Hope?" Ziyeng asked patiently.

"You've said you've mastered the four elements," Hope continued.

"Go on," Ziyeng braced himself, knowing what Hope was going to say next.

"Well, why can't you anymore?" Hope looked away from her bending to look at Ziyeng.

Ziyeng sighed. "It's a long story. Are you sure?"

Hope nodded vehemently.

Ziyeng breathed in. "Okay. I met this old man who gave me this interesting theory that I can barely remember and you wouldn't even understand if I tried to tell you," he chuckled, "But anyway, I mastered Firebending, then found I was able to bend other elements. After mastering all of them, I went to thank the old man…"

FLASHBACK – TWO YEARS AGO

I walked into a shop called the _Jasmine Dragon_. I had asked around Omashu for the Fire Lord's uncle, and a Wiseman told me he ran a teashop (I should have known) in Ba Sing Se called the "Jasmine Dragon". Therefore, I traveled to the Earth Kingdom capital to give my thanks.

"May I help you?" a waiter asked as I walked inside cautiously.

"Yes, I'd like to speak to the owner. I believe he is the Fire Lord's uncle, correct?" I asked.

"Yes. Is there something wrong in the Fire Nation?"

"Not at all. I've just met him before and would like to talk to him," I assured.

"Sure thing," the waiter smiled and walked to the second floor. A few seconds later, I was beckoned to follow.

I was escorted upstairs where I saw the familiar face I had been hoping to see. He was sitting in a comfortable-looking chair and sipping tea.

"You have a visitor, Mr. Iroh," the waiter replied curtly. "And you start brewing in half an hour." As he said it, the waiter left.

"Brewing?" I asked, confused. "But you run the shop."

"Let's just say I have a passion for tea," Iroh chuckled. "Now who are you?"

"Do you remember me?" I asked. "My name is Ziyeng. We sat next to each other for a few minutes at the Worldwide Bending Tournament, remember?"

Iroh thought. "Nope, I don't remember." He started laughing again. "With age comes memory loss, I assure you."

"You showed me that graph with the elements with your theory of being able to learn more than one," I explained.

Iroh thought. "Ah, I remember you!" a wave of realization hit Iroh. "You were that impatient Firebender!"

"Yes, and I've come to thank you," I continued.

"Thank me?" Iroh asked, tilting his head. "What do you have to thank _me_ for?"

I smiled. I told him to look the outside window. Craftily, I Earthbended a pillar up with a single hand, to be visibly seen.

Iroh turned to me, now thoroughly bewildered as Jeong Jeong had been. For good measure, I Airbended and Waterbended one of the candles out in the corner of the room, then Firebended it back on.

Iroh turned to me again, his eyes wide. "It worked?"

"It worked."

_Much later…_

I then looked for an opportunity to show the world my newfound abilities, and the best option seemed to be dueling the Avatar. Of course, I had to find him. I heard rumors he was in the Southern Water Tribe, Northern Water Tribe, Omashu, Kyoshi, Gaoling Village, and even the Foggy Swamps. I kept tracking him, and finally found him in the Fire Nation capital.

"Avatar Aang!" I yelled out. The Avatar was in front of the Palace with two friends dressed in Water Tribe garb and another girl dressed like a Kyoshi Warrior. "I have a request."

"Hello," Aang said. "What can I do for you?"

"I'd like to duel you," I said bravely.

"You'd like to duel me?" Aang rolled his eyes, starting to walk away. "You have no idea how many times a day I get _that_ request…"

"I'll pay you," I called after him, causing him to turn around. "I've got a large pay from my old job,"

"Now for money, I'll do it," Aang walked straight toward me and patted me on the back. "Are you sure you want to duel me? I _am_ the Avatar."

"Absolutely," I told him. "This'll be different. Trust me."

A few minutes later, I was in a position I never in a million years thought I would be: face-to-face with the Avatar, about to duel.

"One last chance to back out," Aang told me.

"Never," I said.

And it had begun. I Firebended, he started countering it with Water. I continued to Firebend, hoping to eventually take him by surprise with a second bending element.

After several more Fire vs. Water/Earth/Fire/Air element bending, I decided to shake things up. As the Avatar sent forth a large gust of wind, I shocked everybody by pulling Earth out of the ground as a shield.

I lowered the rocks and grinned as the looks of Aang and his friends had the same bewilderment that everyone else who had witnessed my extraordinary talent had had.

"But…" Aang started, before I formed a suit of rocky armor out of the ground.

Aang shook his head. "You can Earthbend… and Firebend?!"

I charged forward, and Aang only managed to Airbend me away.

"But that's not all!" I laughed tauntingly as I Airbended at the Avatar.

He wasn't moving. This confused me. I pulled water out of the air and it hit him. He didn't flinch.

"Is something wrong?" I asked, walking up to him, but was thrown aback by a sudden burst of energy.

The Avatar was surrounded by a burst of blue cosmic energy, wind crashing around him. His eyes were glowing, as were his arrow tattoos. I stood up as Aang started _floating_ and hovered towards me. I made a break for it, but he was already upon me.

"I don't know how you did it," I heard a voice. It wasn't Aang's. I don't even think there was a single specified voice. I heard hundreds, no… _thousands_ of voices. All speaking simultaneously as if there were multiples within one. It was an experience that rattled me to the core, leaving me speechless. I was put on my knees by a seemingly invisible force. "But, by bending all four elements, and not being a reincarnate of the Avatar State, you have broken the natural balance of the order!"

At the time this was going on, my life was flashing before my eyes. I had no idea if he was going to kill me or make me melt or something.

"And for that, you will be stripped of your bending abilities!" the Avatar lost his majestic form, still glowing, and placed his right hand on my head and the left hand on my heart. What happened next I can barely remember. The Avatar's entire body glowed blue. Mine glowed red. The Earth seemed to shake as lights went to the heavens from our mouths and eye. And then it was over. The lights were gone, and I collapsed in a heap.

Without saying a word (or at least anything I could hear), Avatar Aang walked away, and his friends disappeared with him, leaving me.

I lay on the ground, for the next several minutes too weak to lose a muscle. I didn't know it at the time, but I had just lost what I had spent years working to attain—Waterbending, Earthbending, Firebending, and Airbending.

Thus was how I lost my bending abilities. All that hard work vanished in a single minute.

----

Well, I don't have much else to say, just please review. :D

Tomorrow's the last chapter before the hiatus, however. D:


	8. HIATUS NOTICE

Dear fans of _The Second War_,

I apologize for the lack of an episode today: Stuff has come up and I have been unable to complete an acceptable Chapter 8. Thus, Chapter 7 was the last chapter before the hiatus.

Let me clear up on the hiatus. The hiatus will be about four weeks; there's also a 50/50 chance I'll be able to work on the weekends.

Thanks everyone for reading! And special thanks to for that review-fest. :D

This hiatus notice will be removed at the end of the hiatus.

See you soon,

Graystripe2


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